Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland .. - National Library of Scotland

:Total.—MONTEOSEn fund of £29,600 bequeathed by William Donvard,siiercliant in ilontrose. It is a neat Elizabethan building,att'ording accommodation for 150 inmates, but lias generallyonly about 80. In 1882 these were 23 men, 15women, 25 boys, and 15 girls. It is managed bytrustees from various public bodies. The Museum ofthe Natural History and Antiquarian Society is a neattuilding in Panmure Place, erected in 1837. It con-.tains valuable collections of natural history objects, anda fine collection of coins and other antiquities. OnSaturday it is accessible for the verj' small charge of onepenny. The Barracks, to the NE of the harbour, wereorigiually the buildings of the lunatic asylum, whichwere transferred to Government in 1860 to be convertedinto a dep6t for the Angus and Mearns militia,officially the 5th Brigade Scottish division R.M.Artillei'y.Commerce and Trade, etc.—The manufacture of linenyarn and thread was introduced at a comparativelyearly period, and has been vigorously carried on. Anannual market for these products was held in the earlyyears of last century, and drew to it manufacturers fromall parts of Forfarshire and Kincardineshire and fromsome parts of Aberdeenshire, to dispose of their goods.The making of sailcloth was begun in 1745 ; but after ashort burst of prosperity it fell off, so as almost to becomeextinct. It has, however, now again revived and becomevery extensive. The manufacture of sailcloth, fine linen,Ja^wns, and cambric was so prominent at Pennant's visitto the town in 1776, as to draw from him a eulogy onthe skill and industry employed, as well as the beautyof many of the fabrics produced. Flax-spinning, withnewly-invented machinery worked by one of Boultonand Watt's engines, was commenced in Ford's Mill,a factory built for this in 1805 ; and in 1805-6 theengineman who had charge of the machinery of thiswork was the great inventor of the locomotive engine,George Stephenson. An engineman's wages in tliosedays could not have been large, but during theyear Stephenson was in Montrose he saved a sumof no less than £28. Flax-spinning is now theprincipal industry, and gives employment to a largenumber of hands, both in the town and in its neighliourhood,as does also the weaving of part of the yarninto floor-cloths, ducks, sheetings, dowlas, canvas, andother fabrics, and the bleaching operations therewithconnected. There are also extensive rope-works, tanworks,mills, machine-making establishments, breweries,starch-works—dating from 1798—soap-works, and anartificial manure and chemical work. Shipbuilding wasonce extensively carried on, but is now extinct, thoughthere is still a good deal of boatbuilding. Theregistration or custom-house port used formerly to•comprehend the whole coast from Buddon Ness onthe S to Bervie-brow or Todhead on the N, and includedWesthaven, Easthaven, Arbroath, Johnshaven,and Gourdon ; but it is now restricted to the reachfrom Redhead to Todhead, and therefore includes nowonly Johnshaven and Gourdon. The number of vesselswithin the smaller range, with their tonnage, has beenat various dates as followsYear.1868187518821883SailingShips.112785044Tons. Steamers. TO-- l^^^lTotalTons.17,32013,5299,2878,25624784011562053184011482676217,36014,68511,34010,096By far the greater part of the ships belong to Montrose:itsclf.The harbour comprises the whole reach of the SouthEsk from the bridge to the sea, but is occupied prinripallyin the upper part of that reach. It is naturallyvery good, and has been well cared for. The entrancelis somewhat narrow, and cannot easily be taken, with the-wind from certain points ; but the depth over the bar isMONTROSE18 feet at low water of spring tides, and it is thereforeaccessible at all hours to vessels of large draught. Tothe N of the fairway is a dangerous bank called the AnnetSands. There are leading lights, and on the promontoryat the S side of the mouth of the river is Montroseness orScurdyness lighthouse (1870), with—since 1881— a doubleintermittent or occulting light, its periods of light beingalways four seconds, and its periods of darknesstwo seconds and eight seconds alternately. The lightis visible at a distance of 17 nautical miles. The quaysare well constructed and commodious. A wet dock,measuring 450 by 300 feet, with a depth of 19 feet atspring tides and 15 at neaps, and capable of accommodating6000 tons of shipping, vjiia formed in 1840 ata cost of £43,000. There is a patent slip, capable ofraising vessels of 400 tons. Tramways connect thoharbour with both the Caledonian and North Britishrailway stations. The present trustees are 5 electedby the county, the sheriff of the county, the provostand senior bailie of Montrose, 2 members elected bythe town council, 9 chosen by the municipal electors,and 4 elected by the town council of Brechin. It wasacquired by this body from the town council in 1837,under act of parliament, by which a payment of £600 ayear in perpetuity is to be made to the latter body. Thefollowing table shows the tonnage of vessels that enteredfrom and to foreign ports and coastwise, with cargoesand ballast, at various dates ;Year.186018741S8118S2Entered.British. Foreign.148,88266,91571,31965,99817,63825,41421,42628,041CleAEED.British. Foreign. Total.66,52092,32992,74694,03933,79066,00268,12207,45017.06622,47920,94726,21450,85689,38189,06993,664The foreign trade is chiefly with the Baltic andCanada. The chief exports are grain, manufacturedgoods, and fish, and the chief imports are timber, coal,flax, hemp, and wheat. The trade in wood is secondonly to that on the Clyde, and more unmanufacturedtobacco is imported here than is brought into any otherport in Scotland except Glasgow and Leith. The amountof customs in 1866 was £3i54, in 1874 £1787, in 1881£1305, and in 1882 £1093. Montrose fishery districtembraces the coast from Broughty Ferry to Gourdon,and on 1 Jan. 1883 had a total of 182 first class boats,244 second class boats, and 193 third class boats, with atotal tonnage of 4954, and 1180 resident fishermen andboys. Of these, however, only 1 first class boat, 4 thirdclass boats, and 8 men and boys belonged to Montroseitself. In the year before the value of the boats was£37,012, of the nets £25,500, and of the lines £7624.The total persons employed in connection with themwere 2882, the number of barrels of herrings salted orcured 39,199, and the number of cod, ling, or haketaken 110,392. Of the whole number of boats, about aquarter belongs to the small fishing-village of Ferryden,on the opposite side of the South Esk from Montrose.But few of the boats fish at home, the number in1883 being 174, which had a total catch of 15,344crans.Slunicipality, etc.—As already noticed it is uncertainwhen Montrose became a royal burgh, but in the chartersof confirmation and renovation granted by Da-vid II. in1352, and by Robert II. in 1385, there is a rescript of acharter believed to have been granted by David I. Subsequentextension of privileges was granted by JamesIV. Municipal matters are attended to by a provost,3 bailies, a dean of guild, a treasurer, a hospital master,and 12 councillors, and this corporation is probably theonly one in Scotland that can boast of ever having hadfemale burgesses, since in 1751 the ladies Jean, Mary,and Margaret Falconer, daughters of Lord Falconer ofHalkerstone, were raised to that dignity. The councilacts also as the police commission, and the police forceconsists of 12 men (one to every 1247 of the population)S7